The invention relates to a siding or roofing strip and more particularly to an interlocking siding or roofing strip provided with a corrugated portion adapted to be securely fastened to the surface being covered in such a manner so as to automatically compensate for expansions and contractions while simultaneously serving to self-bias the strip tightly against the surface to prevent loosening and noise.
The prior art teaches many different types of interlocking siding sheets for protectively and/or decoratively covering the inside and/or outside walls of a building or trim portions thereof. Similarly, the prior art teaches many different types of interlocking roofing strips or shingles adapted to be secured to the roof portion of a building in a partially overlapping manner, one above the other.
The prior art siding or roofing strips which are capable of interlocking are often relatively complex structures which are relatively expensive to make and difficult to install and maintain. Most of the siding or roofing strips of the prior art become loose with age or through exposure to variations in the weather since both of these conditions may result in expansions and contractions of the sliding or roofing strips themselves, of the fastening elements used to anchor the strips, and/or of the material from which the surface of the building being covered is made.
When roofing or siding strips become loose, they can fall off leaving an unsightly blemish and an unprotected area on the previously covered surface. Water or the like may run under the roofing or siding and into the house causing property damage. A major problem which has not previously found a commercially acceptable solution is that of noise. When the roofing and/or siding strips become loose, even a gentle breeze may cause a whistling or rattling of the strips much to the annoyance of the inhabitants of the building.
None of the roofing and/or siding strips of the prior art, which are commercially feasible when cost considerations are taken into account, provide a means to prevent the strips from coming loose and none provide means whereby the strip may automatically compensate for expansions and contractions.
The present invention eliminates most of the deficiencies of the prior art and provides an integrally formed interlocking siding strip which is not only capable of mechanically interlocking with previously installed strips but which self-compensates for expansions and contractions while simultaneously self-biasing the fastening the elements to tightly anchor the strip to the surface in a spring-like manner so as to prevent the strips from coming loose and eliminating noise.